Saudi Arabia stands out as a mobile-first retail powerhouse, with shoppers conducting two-thirds of their purchases via smartphones—the highest globally and second only to the UAE in mobile retail transactions. This reflects the country’s rapid digital adoption under its Saudi Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to foster a cashless society. In 2023, digital payments accounted for 79% of consumer-initiated transactions by volume, surpassing government targets a year early.
Despite this advanced ecosystem, Saudi mobile shoppers report significantly higher payment issues than the global average. According to a PYMNTS Intelligence report in collaboration with Visa Acceptance, Saudi consumers are three times more likely to experience problems such as transaction failures, incorrect charges, or billing errors during checkout.
For nearly 30 years, the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has built an “always-on” payments infrastructure, now governed by the comprehensive Mada system, which connects all ATMs and POS terminals to a central clearing platform supporting domestic and international cards. Financial inclusion has expanded to 94% of adults in the kingdom.
Initiatives such as the Sarie Instant Payment System—developed with IBM and Mastercard—and the Sadad bill payment platform highlight the government’s commitment to seamless digital payments. However, friction remains high: nearly all Saudi shoppers encountered at least one payment issue in their most recent online purchase, with over half reporting a declined transaction—3.5 times the global average.
This juxtaposition of mobile shopping leadership and payment challenges underscores the ongoing need to enhance payment reliability and user experience as Saudi Arabia accelerates its transition toward a fully digital, cashless economy.
